


Heart to Heart.

by dragonism



Series: Brotzly Ficlets [6]
Category: Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency (TV 2016)
Genre: Dirk reccounting his time at Blackwing, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Memories, Mild Angst, Mild Hurt/Comfort, Other, Past
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-10-26
Updated: 2017-10-26
Packaged: 2019-01-23 17:33:21
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,170
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12512576
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dragonism/pseuds/dragonism
Summary: This takes place in Episode 5 of Dirk Gently’s Holistic Detective Agency, just after Dirk and Todd finish collecting the parts for Spring’s machine- but before they have returned to Farah and Amanda.





	Heart to Heart.

The drive home after collecting Spring’s machine was long, and quiet.

Neither men really knew exactly what to say. It felt like they’d already said as much as they could, at the rocks; in the woods; their emotions were open and raw.

But... what if they weren’t entirely open?

Dirk pondered this thought for what felt like a long while, tapping at the driver’s wheel with his hand as he conjured the words he wanted to say. The entire evening had been spent venting honestly, that much was true, however for the amount Todd had told Dirk- he felt he’d offered little information in return.

“I’m not from England.” Dirk spoke suddenly, causing Todd to break from his own thoughts as he turned to look at him. “I-I mean I am... but I haven’t been there in a long time.”

“Dirk you don’t have to-“

“I do.” Dirk glanced at Todd with a weak smile, nodding, “I want to.”

Todd acknowledged the man with a small smile of his own, turning a little in his seat to look at Dirk as the man spoke, “Okay.”

“When I was small, everybody knew there was something different about me. You know? They had this inkling, and I knew I didn’t fit in with the normal children.”

Dirk sighed, his grip on the wheel tightening just slightly as he recounted his past, “I didn’t have many friends, not because I didn’t try, but because people just didn’t seem to like me. I guess the adults noticed. My mother set me up for an appointment with... this man. He was military, stern, they told me there was something different about me but they didn’t know what it was.”

“Your power?” Todd asked in a small, curious voice.

“Yes, yes I guess you could call it that.” Dirk hummed, his eyes flickering between Todd and the road ahead of them, “They wanted to observe me, see just what made me so different. I suppose my parents didn’t realise just what that meant because... well they agreed. And before I knew it I was being shipped off to America to this huge guarded building that would become my home for the next sixteen years.”

He trailed off for a moment, blinked slow and careful, tried to make sense of his thoughts as they came, “The unit was called Blackwing. A secret military project that studied people of extraordinary abilities. I suppose I can’t really call it a home, it felt more like a prison.”

“Blackwing?”

“You won’t have heard of it, it’s kept under lock and key, and for good reason. The project studied people that could be seen as potential threats to the outside world- and because of their threat status, the studies weren’t always... ethical.” Dirk winced his eyes going cloudy for just a second before he blinked back the sting of a few tears, “They experimented on us- kids. Some people there were barely the age of ten. We were punished for wrong answers and allowed no contact with the outside world.”

“Woah, Dirk, I’m-“ Todd fumbled for a moment, trying to find the right thing to say. Dirk already knew what was coming, he’d heard it before, “I’m so sorry.”

“Well, you don’t need to apologise Todd, you weren’t involved.” Dirk shook his head, giving Todd his best reassuring smile as he continued to drive the winding road home. There was a brief quiet between them before he continued, “I did find a family there, though. Riggins- the man who ran the base- would take me to see another project. Moloch was his official name. He was the only one I could ever talk to. One of the older boys of the facility and... a good friend. He’d listen to my stories, he encouraged me to become a detective.”

“You’ve wanted to be a detective for a while huh?”

“Since I was a little child. I used to, hm, make my own cases up in Blackwing. Find missing dolls or silly objects. Sometimes entirely fictional. But around Moloch they seemed to come to life, like he could make my stories exist as their own entity- just for me.” Dirk smiled at the happier memory. Realising quickly he was nearing the end of his tale.

“Anyway, when the time came it was the Rowdy 3 that broke us all out. Back then there really was just three of them, Vogel was another project, but he worked with them. Helped them. After that I think they took him under their wing.” Pulling to a stop light, Dirk turned to look at Todd, smiling still and calm, “That night I was merely 16. I had no idea what was happening. I just knew I had to leave. I left everything behind.”

“Where did you go?”

“Everywhere at first. I couldn’t stop in one place for too long. I was homeless for a while, nobody would hire a young lad like myself who was only barely educated.” He furrowed his brows in thought, “I was never desperate, though, things seemed to fall into place as I needed them. And sometimes I’d receive little gifts too- from the Rowdy 3 I suspect, they tailed me for a while whenever they needed energy.”

“So you just, wandered?”

“Like I always do. Alone, directionless, but... doing something at least. Until I found myself a case. Or well... the universe found me a case.”

“And thats how you became a detective.”

“Yes.”

Todd hummed, like he was still processing everything Dirk had said. And then Dirk felt a warmth cover his hand, and looked down to see Todd’s fingers press between his own before closing around his palm, “You’re a good man, Dirk. You didn’t deserve the past you had.”

“Well, I’m somewhat glad I got it, everything that happened then is what lead me here. To you. To Farah.” Dirk looked back at the smaller man, a slight flush in his cheeks as he curled his own fingers over Todd’s, squeezing his friend’s hand, “I just... felt it was only fair you knew just where I came from. You let me know so much about you that it seemed a fair repayment.”

“I’m glad you told me, but... you don’t owe me anything Dirk. I mean, gee man, if anything I owe you. That speech in the woods was really something.”

“It was only the truth, Todd.” Dirk huffed a small laugh of relief. It was nice, this. Knowing that a weight had been lifted off his shoulders as Todd learned more about the mysterious detective in the colourful jacket.

Both men fell into a comfortable silence after their talk. Both knowing each other much better than before, both managing to appreciate their pasts and what brought them to meet each other. They were happier for it, more weightless, less agitated. They felt free for the first time in both of their rather dismal existences before today.

Neither noticed their hands still entwined over the clutch of the jeep.


End file.
